CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE Frank Guinta listens as he is introduced to a group of voters by former Franklin Mayor Tony Giunta Tuesday evening.
Alan MacRae/for the Citizen

During a town hall-style meeting at the Taylor Community, Congressional Candidate Frank Guinta said that if voters send him to Washington, he would bring with him the fiscal and social conservatism that defined his terms as a state legislator and as mayor of Manchester.

Saying he would drastically cut government spending, seek to impose term limits and support stricter polices on illegal immigration, Guinta addressed a crowd of approximately 40 in the community room of the Taylor Community's Woodside senior apartment building.

Guinta said his experience as a businessman, a state legislator and as mayor of Manchester; coupled with his conservative principles, would make him the right person to represent the will of Granite Staters in Washington.

"(It) makes me someone who will not just be a representative for you but someone who will fight for you," Guinta said, adding that he would not spend most of his time in Washington, but in New Hampshire, talking to constituents, then going to back to Washington when it was time to vote.

He said he would continually "have a dialogue about what you (constituents) want Washington to do with your money ... because it is your money."

He added that he supported a tax cap when he was running for mayor and did not alter his position once elected. Guinta said he would "focus like a laser" to reduce federal spending in Congress as well.

During the question portion of the meeting he was asked about everything from his position on abortion to foreign policy and illegal immigration.

In response to two questions on abortion, Guinta said he is pro life, and, were a repeal to Roe v. Wade come up while he was serving in Congress, he would vote for a no-holds barred ban on abortion with "no exceptions."

He said he would vote to pull the United States out of United Nations in response to another question about growing U.N. demands on the U.S.

Kim Trask of Laconia asked a question about where Guinta stands on foreign policy, especially in relation to the countries of Iran and Venezuela.

"I would say those countries are in that larger group that are our enemies," Guinta said, adding that he thinks the country needs to remain focused on the "War on Terror," and be "strategic and surgical" about any threats to U.S. citizens on American or foreign soil.

He said he would also fight for stronger support of Isreal, which in his opinion, would help stabilize the situation in the Middle East.

In introducing Guinta, former Franklin Mayor Tony Giunta said he was there to not only support the candidate for the U.S. House of Representative's District 1 seat, currently held by Carol Shea-Porter, but to clear up some confusion about their names and relation to one another.

Giunta joked about how many times he was congratulated for the successes of Frank Guinta, such as winning a seat in the state Legislature or in running for and being elected mayor of Manchester.

He added that while they are not, in fact, the same person, they agree on many issues such as tax caps and other fiscally conservative ideals.

Giunta said that after meeting and talking with each other, they discovered that they may indeed be related, albeit distantly.

Helen Holbrook, wife of former state Rep. Bob Holbrook of Laconia, said she and her husband have known Guinta since his time in the state Legislature.

"I like his optimism — he's got so much courage and conviction," Helen Holbrook said.

Trask said she came to hear what Guinta had to say because she is "just frustrated with the way the country is going at this point."

Trask said she found herself agreeing with much of what the candidate had to say.

"I was happy with his answers and I agreed with pretty much everything he said," Trask said after the meeting ended. "It's time we got some conservative values back in Washington."